A Cognitive Stylistic Analysis of Catharsis Used by Husseini Preachers

This study deals with catharsis as a cognitive stylistic device used to expel fear and anxiety for the sake of changing the audience toward better by preachers in Husseini discourse – Hussein is a grand Shiite Muslim leader. It aims to explicate the exploitation of catharsis by Husseini preachers and the conceptualization of such phenomenon by the audience. The study adapts the emotion model developed by Kovecses (2000); five stages are utilized: cause of the emotion, emotion, control, loss of control, and behavioral response. Twenty Husseini sermons are analyzed according to the stages of the model. Consequently, the study has come up with considerable conclusions. Chief among them are: Husseini preachers pragmatically use prosodic features to convey catharsis. A further conclusion is that catharsis is utilized by Husseini preachers as a strategy to teach the audience all the objectives of the Husseini revolution and to connect the objectives to this age for the sake of reform, using the fear that can modulate the human behavior.

Qualitative Study of the Factors Affecting Marital Satisfaction from the Viewpoint of Divorced Women: Comparing the Attitudes of Women Before and After Marriage

Aim: The purpose of the present study was to qualitatively study the factors on marital satisfaction from the viewpoint of divorced women before and after marriage. Methods: A qualitative study design based on grounded theory was used. Among the women who referred to the family court of Meybod city and were separated from their husbands, 12 women were selected to participate in the study. The sample size was selected based on theoretical saturation and data was obtained using a semi-structured deep interview. Findings: Results show divorced women before their marriage, either had specific and postmodern viewpoint toward marital satisfaction, or had idealistic and superficial viewpoint about marital life considering a minimal number of problems. After divorce, they believed in concrete and specific criteria for achieving marital satisfaction. The factors affecting marital satisfaction from the viewpoints of the participants before their marriage were classified in concepts such as idealism, superficial, attitudinal understanding, non-specific attitude; after divorce these factors were classified in concepts such as behavior and emotion control, personal and family fitness, rational-intellectualism, management of relationships, and accountability. However, before marriage, divorced women believed in logical criteria, which were retained after divorce. Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be concluded that change in postmodern, unrealistic, and idealistic ideas about marital satisfaction and the tendency to accept the realities of marital relationship can play an effective role in preventing divorce.

Harnessing Anger and Shame: Emotional Diplomacy in Early Modern Context

Emotions were, in early modern literature on diplomacy, described as a parasitic and even dangerous manifestation, and this view has endured until today. A series of recent books and articles published in the field of the history of emotions lays however the groundwork to question this traditional analysis. This article thus aims to examine the possibility of a broader and more strategic use of emotions in early modern diplomacy than is often acknowledged, and therefore the possibility of what can be called an early modern emotional diplomacy. I will first provide a summary of what the honnête homme culture of Europe’s ruling class meant for an ambassador in terms of emotion control. I will then show, through a few examples from diplomatic occurrences during Charles ii of England’s late reign, some of the possible uses of emotion in early modern diplomacy. Thirdly, I will study through one very memorable display of emotion from the English king the way such a display could be prepared and staged in order to achieve full effectiveness. Lastly, I will put these one-time emotional displays in the perspective of Charles ii’s international policy, arguing that they were not conceived as isolated occurrences but as parts of a real diplomatic strategy in which emotion played a crucial role, in other words an emotional diplomacy.

The emotion storyboard: A method to examine social judgments of emotion

As perceivers, we need to understand context to make social judgments about emotion, such as judging whether emotion is appropriate. We propose a graphic novel-like method, the emotion storyboard, for use in research on social judgments of emotion. Across two studies, participants were randomly assigned to read emotion storyboards or written vignettes to compare the efficacy of the emotion storyboard to that of vignettes in studies on social judgments of emotion. In Study 1, undergraduates (N = 194) answered comprehension questions and rated story clarity and immersion. Participants also made social judgments of emotion by rating main character emotion control and appropriateness of intensity. To further compare the efficacy of the methods, in Study 2, Amazon Mechanical Turk workers (N = 213) answered comprehension questions while response times were recorded, rated clarity, answered a race manipulation check, and rated main character emotion type appropriateness. Overall, emotion storyboards resulted in greater clarity ratings, greater race manipulation check accuracy, and in some instances, enhanced comprehension and comprehension response times relative to vignettes. In emotion storyboards, main character emotion was rated more controlled and more appropriate in intensity, but not different in emotion type appropriateness, than in vignettes. Overall, the method offers a new method of examining social elements of emotion that enhances comprehension and maximizes experimental efficiency.

The Counseling Needs of Girls about to Get Married: A Qualitative Study of Taal of Association in Unayzah

This study aimed at identifying the cognitive and skills needs of young women getting married by monitoring the reality in the rehabilitation program of young women getting married. This study adopted the qualitative approach, which focuses on studying the phenomena, the individuals, communities, and institutions in various fields and describing them to reach a deeper understanding. The study used two methods to collect data and information from the research sample. The Focus group tool, which was used with a purposive sample of (21) young women getting married and who attended the qualification program of young women getting married. The other tool was interviews with the trainers. The researcher had individual interviews with all the seven trainers. The results of this study revealed that the most important knowledge according to trainers is the psychological knowledge and the medical knowledge. The results showed also that the most important skills required in this program from the trainer’s point of view were house management, grooming and personal care, and emotion control. The most important knowledge that has gained the favor of young women getting married in this program are psychological and medical knowledge. The most significant skills that young women getting married need are: the skill if dealing with the husband, the skill of emotion control, the skill of emotions management, the skill of planning, and the skill of problem solving. The study recommended using the rehabilitation programs with couples getting married and making such programs as a condition of the marriage contract. The study also recommended establishing a department in the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, which supervises the providers of pre-marriage counseling courses.

The Effectiveness of Compassion-focused Therapy for Improving Emotional Control and Reducing the Severity of Pain in Migraine Patients

Objective: Because of the unwanted effects of the patient’s migraine headaches and the role of excitement and stress in the development and exacerbation of headaches, migraine headaches are psychosomatic disorders that affect the patients’ psychological lives. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) for improving emotional control and reducing the severity of pain in patients with migraines. Methods: A total of 30 patients with migraines referred to Isfahan Al-Zahra Hospital, Isfahan City, Iran, were selected and randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The research instruments included the Emotion Control Questionnaire (ECQ), von Korff’s questionnaire for grading the severity of chronic pain, and the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) questionnaire. The experimental group received eight 90-min sessions of CFT, and both groups took the post-test after finishing the training sessions. Analysis of the data involved both descriptive and inferential statistics, including mean, standard deviation, Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA), and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Results: The results showed that the training based on CFT had a significant effect on improving emotional control and its subscales (F=21.81; P<0.01), as well as reducing pain severity in the patients (F=17.21; P<0.01). Conclusion: Therefore, in treating migraine patients, CFT can be a useful supplementary approach along with medications.